Milford Juneteenth Holiday? Town Meeting Will Vote

MILFORD, MA — The holiday marking the end of slavery in the U.S. may soon be added to the Milford town calendar.

Milford Town Meeting will decide next week whether to add Juneteenth as a town holiday, with building closures and a day off for employees similar to other major holidays.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day began in 1983. The 2021 Juneteenth fell just two days after President Joe Biden signed the law establishing the holiday, resulting in many businesses and federal offices choosing to remain open.

In 2022, Juneteenth will fall on a Sunday, but the public observance day will be on June 20.

The Juneteenth holiday marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers told slaves located near Galveston, Texas, they were free. That first Juneteenth came two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed some slaves, but left others in bondage. Texas was the last state the Union Army reached, and so the 1865 declaration was seen as the real date slaves were freed, according to the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation.

The spring 2022 Milford Town Meeting begins on Monday. You can see all 40 articles up for a vote on the town website.